Our Melody
by DrinkMeadEveryDay
Summary: When Levy befriends the school's delinquent at a concert, she'd never guessed she'd be in for a wild ride. AU (Slow updates. You've been warned)
1. Chapter 1

**I live for band AUs. Enjoy 3**

Music blared and echoed through the concert hall accompanied by cheers and screams. Levy could understand the appeal of the band on stage but she wasn't really enjoying her evening. She glanced briefly at the messy mass of blonde hair next to her who seemed to really be getting into the music.

"Hey, Lu-chan, I'm just going to go out and get some air," she yelled over the noise of the crowd which was buzzing with voices singing alongside the band.

"Yeah, sure, text me if you need to get hold of me," she replied, grinning at her blue-haired friend before continuing to bounce around to the music.

Squeezing her small body through any available gap, Levy managed to finally escape the crowd. As she tumbled out into the street, she noticed how dark it had gotten. Stars twinkled above her head as she inhaled the fresh air she'd been deprived of inside. She'd been grateful to be free of the thudding of the drums which had caused the throbbing in her head but had eased up as the door muffled the sound. Cool evening breeze whooshed through her sapphire locks and she daintily placed herself onto the curb.

As the calmness set in, the noise picked up as someone else trudged through the door with the sourest look on his face.

"Whatcha lookin' at, short stack," a gruff voice barked in an attempt to intimidate her.

"Nothing in particular," she replied coolly, unfazed by his attempt. She knew who he was; Gajeel, the top delinquent at their school, as he was known. He looked at her for a short while, examining her calm expression as she glanced around her surroundings. He was slightly taken aback by the response.

"Mind if I join ya?" he didn't ask; it was more of a statement which he followed with dumping himself next to the blunette. They sat for a while in uncomfortable silence seeing as the first time they'd met, he'd tied her and her friends to a tree after ransacking the book club's classroom. Of course, neither party brought it up but Levy thought that he'd probably have forgotten since rumours of worse things he'd done had circulated in the past.

"Hey," he coughed awkwardly, "why are you even lurking outside a concert?" She was startled by the sudden noise.

"My friend brought me but it's not my kind of music, you?"

"A friend of mine's performing, asked me to come along. I'm not much of a pop fan either."

More silence followed seeing as neither teen thought they had anything in common with each other. The blunette was sincerely hoping the excessively pierced defaulter would get bored and leave. Icy wind ran over her form causing a fit of shivers, only to be stifled by the warmth of a leather jacket being placed on her shoulders.

"Thanks," she paused, surprised at the action. "You didn't have to-"

"You want to be cold, pint-size?" he butt in, staring off down the street and ignoring his own shivers.

"Don't give me nicknames like that," she mumbled begrudgingly, staring the other way.

"You say something, short stack?"

"Nothing!" she denied waving her hands defensively before checking the time on her phone. An elongated groan followed the answer to her wondering. He looked at her with confusion before checking his own, only to give the same reaction.

"Well we've got an hour left to kill," he stated as he hauled himself up before grabbing Levy's wrist and adding, "C'mon midget."

After a while of being dragged and a lot of protesting and asking where they were going, she found herself led to what appeared to be some shabby bar down an unknown road. It made her uneasy but she tried to stay calm, knowing she could probably defend herself if need be. He swung the door open with way too much force causing everyone inside to stare at him in shock before continuing their rowdy games. As he stalked up to the bar, she meekly followed.

"Hey Gajeel," the elegant lady behind the bar greeted "You do realize you don't have a shift today, right?"

"Yeah I know but I've got time to kill so for now I'm a customer,"

"Oh okay well for you, it's on the house. What do you want to drink?"

"Uh… Just a beer," he requested, knowing fully that he would surely be turned down seeing as he was under the legal drinking age. His colleague paid no mind and looked to Levy for her order with a friendly smile.

"Lemonade please," she asked, feeling slightly more at ease talking to the purple-haired barmaid.

"Sure thing! I can bring it to your table since business is actually pretty slow this late at night," she cheerfully offered before starting on their drinks.

"Thanks Kinana." He led the bookworm to a table in the corner before sitting himself down and staring out of the foggy window next to him. Again they just sat in more silence which she used to check her messages, just to find that Lucy had messaged her.

'Where are you? I looked outside and you weren't there! – Lucy'

Suddenly Levy realized she'd never told Lucy that she had gone to some dodgy bar with one of the most infamous delinquents at their school and left where she said she'd be. In a flurry of erratic texting she wrote out her reply, 'Sorry for worrying you, I just went for a walk. I'll be at the entrance in a sec! – Levy'

Jumping out of her seat, she scurried to the door at the fastest speed her little legs would take her.

"Sorry I have to go, thank you for waiting with me!" She yelled, speeding out the door to see her friend. All he could do was grunt in response.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh I forgot to ask, where'd you get the jacket yesterday?" Lucy asked as she and Levy entered home room and sat themselves by their usual seats next to the window. Levy didn't want to give her the real answer, knowing the blonde would jump to conclusions. Once she'd returned to Lucy that evening, she noticed she hadn't returned the jacket yet and planned to do so in school.

"I brought it with me yesterday," she responded, thinking her answer further "a friend loaned it to me." Lucy only responded with a slight look of disbelief before dropping the subject entirely.

"Well you'll never guess what happened! I bumped into Mirajane when she was leaving the door in the back!" She exclaimed, cupping her face in excitement.

"Really? What did she say?" At that her friend started to blush.

"Well I was too busy being a bit too fangirly but she said she was looking for her friend who said she expected to be outside which was strange because so was I!" Levy was surprised at her gushing friend. In all honesty, she didn't realize could be such a fangirl. Before Lucy could go overboard with talking about Mirajane, their teacher showed up and started with the register.

After her name was called, Levy spent most of home room staring out the window onto the sports field. There was nothing particularly interesting happening out there until the loud rattle of a motorbike hummed outside and with it, the dark figure of the school's top delinquent gliding up the road to the school. The blunette couldn't help but blush, thinking of yesterday. It was then that the man of rumours became an actual human being and she was willing to set aside the past to become his friend. She had realized that there really was more to him than what was said about him.

As the morning whirred by in a flurry of new information, she found her thoughts straying to the half-stranger she'd met the previous day and she was sure this would continue for a long time. She regularly felt her face warm as the thoughts of last night kept returning.

"I forgot to tell him goodbye!" The exclamation was sudden and roused the attention of Lucy who was doodling in her notebook; neither of them listening to the lesson.

"Tell who?" Lucy asked. Her devilish grin caused Levy to shudder at her accidental outburst.

"N-no one!" Waving her arms defensively, Levy couldn't contain her blush as she ran her fingers across the leather sleeve of the jacket. A sudden gasp from Lucy made it clear she'd figured it out.

"You met someone didn't you?!" She cupped her face as she cooed and squealed at the idea of Levy's blossoming romance.

"It's not like that at all Lu-chan! We were just sitting in the cold together and he gave me his jacket. There's nothing more to it," she explained diplomatically. She didn't want to admit it to herself but part of her hoped it'd become a romance. She'd read enough cheesy novels about a handsome stranger sweeping the main character off her feet. Sure they were stupid but everyone has a guilty pleasure.

"Oooh. Tell me more about your little encounter." Lucy's interrogation becoming more heated as her interest heightened.

"There's really nothing else!" Warmth rose further in her cheeks since the whole class was now looking expectantly followed by odd mutterings of "Who are they talking about?" and "Levy has a crush?" followed by the teacher loudly shushing the class before talking more about molecule geometry. As the blunette looked to the window, she noticed Gajeel casually glancing up at the window. When their eyes met they both abruptly looked away as if they hadn't seen each other.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days had passed since that moment in class and she still hadn't returned the jacket. There had been a few opportunities as they passed in the halls but she couldn't bring herself to talk to him. Her face warmed every time she went to speak to him. It made sense that he made her so uncomfortable since there had been so many rumours about what he had done. Sure, he seemed nice enough but that was the only explanation she'd accept. He had waved at her yesterday when he was getting on his motorcycle to go wherever-

"That's it!" She exclaimed clutching the jacket to her chest as she ran out of the school gates.

"If I head to the town centre to that club Mira was playing at, I can retrace my steps to that bar." A giggle escaped her lips. Playing detective made her feel like Sherlock Holmes. Sure it wasn't nearly as impressive but she could dream.

"I mean they did say he works there. Would it be weird for me to suddenly show up there? Surely it'd be expected since I didn't manage to return it yesterday or the day before," part of her was overthinking it but overall she was determined to return it.

She could see the club approaching and where she and Gajeel had sat before walking off. Her eyes traced the path they'd taken as she began to follow it. The memories started to come back and she found she could find her way comfortably. Wandering through the random alleys she'd remembered from that night, she found herself approaching the bar in no time.

Waiting outside the door, she started to doubt her decision. She could do it tomorrow, couldn't she? There'd no doubt be another chance to bump into him at school without going somewhere like here. Glancing at the jacket and up at the sign to the bar she let out a sigh and began to push the door. As soon as she swung it open a chair was flung through the wall, splintering against the wall of the building behind her.

"Hey watch the furniture!" A gruff voice silenced the cheerful chatter, drawing all the attention to the bar briefly before they resumed. Levy meekly slid to the bar where Gajeel was wiping up glasses. He hadn't noticed her yet and she was still in shock from the chair, still just standing in the doorway. He didn't notice her. With a sigh, the regained her composure and calmly headed to where Gajeel was.

"Here's your jacket." She placed the jacket in front of him a little shyly.

"What are you doing here, pint-size?" he commented, picking up his jacket and slinging it over the nearest chair. Her breath caught in her throat briefly as she was about to reply. Her face warmed, leaving her ears feeling uncomfortably hot.

"Oh Gajeel is this your girlfriend?" The cheerful voice broke the awkwardness around the two. He could only splutter in response to the silver haired girl who'd bounced next to him. Grateful for the girl's timing, the blunette let the two chat.

"I'm Lisanna. Gajeel never mentioned a girlfriend before. I'll get you a drink. I want to know all about this!" She grabbed a bottle of beer and opened it, handing it to Levy. Before she could interject, Gajeel abruptly took it.

"Pipsqueak'll want lemonade. I'll have that," he added. She was grateful he'd saved her from the awkward situation of trying to drink beer when she hated the way it tasted.

Taking the glass he handed to her, she sipped at the brightly coloured straw appreciating his gesture.

"You two are so cute, just wait until Mira hears about this!" At the remark the two simultaneously choked on their drinks. Their faces paled at the idea before frantically denying the fact they were together.

"What's this about?" The sound of heavy boots stomped up behind Levy causing a shiver to lace its way through her spine. She didn't want to look behind her at the intimidating voice but she couldn't control her neck's natural urge to crane towards the voice. A flash of red hair passed her before the elegant yet fearsome woman sat in the stool beside her.

"Nothing Erza," he grunted, fiddling with the piercings on his eyebrows. "The usual?" he added, sliding a slice of strawberry cake towards her along with a glass of whiskey.

"So this is the girlfriend Kinana's been talking about," she remarked before stuffing a heaped forkful of cake into her mouth, crumbs littering the corner of her lips.

"No not at all. I only borrowed a jacket. It's starting to get late so I need to get home," she rattled, sliding off her stool and picking up the school bag she'd placed next to her.

"Thank you for the drink!" With a smile she waved and turned to leave.

"Hey shortstack, isn't it a bit dark for a pipsqueak like you to be out alone? My shift's nearly ending. I can take you home if you want." He seemed genuinely concerned for her in a rough, coarse way.

"Nah, it's okay I'll cover for you," Erza announced, slamming the empty glass on the table and marching behind the bar to help Lisanna.

"Tch don't break too many glasses," he snarkily joked before heading into the back room for a moment.

Levy didn't really know what he was doing or what to do with herself so she waited awkwardly.

"Here," he offered, handing her a motorcycle helmet as he sauntered around the bar to her. "I'm gonna need you to look after Lily though."

"Lily?" she started to ask before a black cat was plopped into her arms, white tufts of fur nuzzling into her chest. He put her helmet on for her since her arms were full and she was busy staring at the fuzzball in her arms. She glanced at its nametag; 'Panther Lily' it read. What a weird name for a cat.

While she was distracted, he'd already reached the door and was waiting.

"You coming or not, midget?" he yelled, holding the door revealing a shroud of blackness behind him. How had it gotten so late so quickly?

"R-right!" Running to the door, she waved goodbye to the girls at the bar who were still cooing over the pair.


	4. Chapter 4

"You ever been on a motorcycle before?" Gajeel asked as he helped her onto the back.

"Nope. Are you sure this is safe?" she asked, voice clearly quivering with uncertainty.

"Do you trust me?" She paused at the question, mulling over it for a second as she petted Panther Lily's coal fur.

"Hmmm. Not as far as I could throw you." He chuckled at the response before revving the engine.

"Well hold on tight," he laughed, speeding onto the road. Wind whirred past her ears making it hard to hear anything. She clutched his waist as if she'd die if she didn't. (She felt like she would.) The bundle of fluff on her lap seemed to be sandwiched between the two, squirming between them.

"Don't you need to know where I live?" She shouted with all her might in the hope that he'd hear.

"Well I assumed you'd tell me," he yelled against the wind. She didn't have to look at his face to know he had that usual cool smirk on his face that she'd become accustomed to when they'd first met. A small giggle escaped her lips as she told him the directions to her house.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful and, surprisingly, they made it to her apartment safely.

"Thank you for the ride home. Would you like me to make you some tea?" she offered, holding her door open for him.

"Nah it's okay, I've got a home to get to too," Gajeel replied however was interrupted by Lily padding into the open door and mewing at his owner expectantly.

"Looks like he wants you to come in," Levy joked, letting her guest out of the cold.

With heavy steps, he entered, examining the room. It was a quaint little second-story apartment, he wondered who else lived here. It looked like she lived alone. Normally, the only reason a 17 year old lived alone was due to family issues. Guess there's more to her than meets the eye.

"You live alone shorty?" He couldn't help it; he was never good at being tactful. Directness was all he knew.

"Yeah, it's pretty neat actually. I mean look," she beamed in an attempt to conceal the glint of sadness in her eyes. Opening the door to her living room, she revealed wall-to-wall bookshelves, heaped with all kinds of books. All of them looked well-loved as he stared over the room.

"Haha, nerd." Puffing her cheeks, the blunette decided to ignore the comment as she walked to the kitchen to make the tea. That worked better than he'd expected and he was grateful for it. Sitting at the coffee table in the centre of the room, he examined the books. What the hell didn't she read? She had classics; Murder Mysteries; Horror; Manga; Sappy Romance crap. Intrigued, he slid a romance novel off the nearest shelf and began to leaf through it. Cheeks warming as he read various passages yet so engrossed he'd missed the sound of the kitchen door swinging open.

"Tea's do-" She froze, tray in hands as she noticed what he was looking at. Blood flooded to her face as their eyes met momentarily. Neither knew what to say.

"Someone's got a dirty taste in books," he joked, trying to make the situation less awkward. The sheer embarrassment caused her to drop the tray, spilling hot tea all over the carpet and shards of china. Without thought she marched over to him and snatched the book from his hands, stuffed it onto the nearest pile and puffed her cheeks, looking out into the darkness through the window.

Abruptly, he got up and sauntered to the kitchen leaving her in confusion for a moment before returning with kitchen roll.

"You're bleeding," he calmly explained, bending down to dab at the trail of red down her leg.

"O-oh right. Thank you." She shouldn't have invited him in. The evening had become a mess and right now she wanted it to be over.

"Sorry about all this, just give me a sec to clean up," she meekly explained, getting a dust pan and brush from a nearby cupboard and starting to sweep up the shards of china that littered the carpet. Before she could do much, a tan hand grabbed the dust pan and brush.

"Don't stress about it shorty," he grunted as he cleaned the mess and dabbed at the tea soaked carpet.

"You didn't need to. I'm sorry about all this."

"No need to cry about it. Shit happens." He started to get up and scan the room for his cat before scooping the bundle of fluffy coal into his toned and pierced arms. "Well that's enough excitement for one day." He stomped to the door, opening it himself and craning his neck slightly with a small wave before closing it behind himself. Surprised, the blunette sprinted to the door and swung it open to see him mounting his bike. It's rude not to see your guests off.

"Goodbye, thank you for the lift!" She bounced towards him, waving and smiling politely.

"huh?" His nose scrunched at the bookworm. "Oh, night." Both pausing, their eyes locked briefly as her breath caught. Was it her imagination or was he leaning towards her? Her cheeks flushed at the idea. Without thinking she bent her neck to the side, coughing awkwardly at the situation.

"Yeah, get home safe okay?" He angled his face away too before sliding the helmet on and riding off into the night. Did she like him? I mean she hardly knew him. They hadn't even been talking a week and he already had this effect. Oh god.


	5. Chapter 5

**Small author's note; I haven't proofread this chapter so it may not be nearly as polished as it should be but i sorta lost my steam on this chapter. I can't guarantee future chapters will come out quickly because this story is my baby and i love it. I want to make sure everything is perfect but right now i don't want to keep you all waiting 3 -Ash**

Since that day a few weeks ago, they hadn't spoken at all. In passing they'd accidentally make eye contact, only to abruptly look away. She was still mortified that he'd seen the book. Someone as innocent as her shouldn't be caught reading books like _those_. What if he decided to announce to everyone about her choice of literature? The worry managed to set in pretty comfortably. Was she overreacting? Surely not. It's good to be prepared for the worst. Right?

This train of thought led her absentmindedly to the library, only to be stifled by a wave of loud voices. Why were there so many people in there after school? It didn't look as if they were studying. With a sigh, she retraced her way away from the library. Where else could she go to finish up some work and quickly read some of her book? As she walked aimlessly through the halls, the waft of guitar music caught her attention. She looked into the unlit hall.

"Why would someone be practicing in secret?" she wondered aloud, slightly unnerved by the looming blackness ahead of her. Yet she was still curious as to who was playing. She had nothing better to do at this time and could study at home. Apprehensively she slipped her way to the door, gently pushing the door open to one of the music rooms which were tucked behind a corner. The windows had been blacked out with paper; otherwise she'd have just peered in.

"Shooby doo bo-" The husky voice stopped. Only the dying chord from the guitar hung in the air. Silence. Both of them felt too awkward to talk. Having been discreetly avoiding one another for a few weeks, this confrontation was awkward to say the least.

"Gajeel," she coughed out, face flushed. "I didn't mean to disturb you." He couldn't find it within himself to reply; his face in a worse condition than Levy's. The school's tough delinquent genuinely looked like a rabbit in headlights. It was almost endearing to see him like this. No more tough-guy attitude. He let out an awkward cough.

"We're even now," he grunted, facing away from the blunette. She couldn't help but cock her head at the statement.

"How so?"

"I know your secret. You know mine. "

"I'm sorry for walking in. I won't say anything about it if you don't want me to." He abruptly got up, placed his guitar onto the stand and approached her.

"It's okay shortstack." He patted her head, ruffling her hair in the process. "I don't know why it's a secret really. I've always wanted to be a blues singer." He caught her by surprise. She'd never pegged him to be a blues singer. Her face lit up at the statement though.

"Really? Could you play something for me?" she encouraged. He continued to make her more and more curious. He really wasn't like the person everyone thought him to be.

"It's getting late and I've got work. Maybe another time," his gruff voice suggested in an attempt to detract from the pinkness that coloured his face. Her dejected face caused him to soften a little.

"I'm sure you'll hear it again," he added, coughing awkwardly again. Giving a small smile in response, Levy nodded at the statement. He was grateful she didn't push; he didn't know how much longer he could hide his embarrassment at the situation. Having spent years crafting his tough-ass image, he couldn't afford for one incident ruin all that for him.

"That is, if you don't tell anyone else about this." His gruff demeanour returned as quickly as it had disappeared before. She didn't really want to push him to do anything so she decided to leave it.

"That's fine Gajeel-kun. I'd just love to hear at some point but right now I have work I need to get done."

"Alright Shortstack, see ya tomorrow," he replied, picking up his guitar and sliding past her, out of the music room. Following, she couldn't help but smile at him. Secretly, 'I think he wants someone to hear,' she thought to herself with a smile.


End file.
